Saguinus leucopus (Gunther, 1877)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5730714 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5730890 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/DF668780-FFF7-FFE7-FFD8-FE236C82EDE9 |
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treatment provided by |
Conny |
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scientific name |
Saguinus leucopus |
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White-footed Tamarin
French: Tamarin a pieds blancs / German: WeikfulRtamarin / Spanish: Tamarin de pies blancos Other common names: Silvery-brown Bare-face Tamarin, Silvery-brown Tamarin
Taxonomy. Hapale leucopus Günther, 1877 ,
Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia.
Southernmost populations of S. leucopus tend to be darker, with dark stripes on forearms and shanks, and they may represent a distinct subspecies, but considered monotypic here.
Distribution. NC Colombia, between the lower Rio Cauca and the middle Rio Magdalena, extending S along the W bank of the Magdalena at least as far as Mariquita; also on Mompos I and on some of the Is in the Magdalena. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 22-29 cm (males) and 23-25 cm (females), tail 36— 42 cm (males) and 35-40 cm (females); weight c.462 g. The fur of the White-footed Tamarin is brownish-gray above with long whitish hair tips and a rusty-orange underside. It has a white brow and long dark brown hairs on the back of the neck, forming a ruff. Forearms, hands, and feet are whitish, and the tail is brown, with an occasional whitish tip. Facial skin is black and appears naked from a distance, but it is really covered with a generous amount of short silvery hairs on the cheeks and crown.
Habitat. Primary, secondary lowland, and pre-montane rainforest up to elevations of 1500 m. The White-footed Tamarin is most often seen in the low and mid-canopy of the forest, butit favors edge habitats such as streamsides. It thrives in second-growth vegetation. Groups are able to exist in suburban areas with groves and small forest patches in gardens, where cultivated fruits are available.
Food and Feeding. The White-footed Tamarin eats fruits and flowers from at least 25 plants, including Anacardium excelsum, Spondias mombin, Mangifera indica , and Tapinira guianensis (all Anacardiaceae ), Bursera simaruba and Protium nodulosum ( Burseraceae ), Ficus and Sorocea sprucei ( Moraceae ), Psidium guajava, Myrcia, and Eugenia ( Myrtaceae ), and Pouteria multiflora (Sapotacaeae). In suburban areas, they eat semi-cultivated fruits such as mango ( Mangifera indica ), papaya, guava, graviola ( Annona muricata), avocado ( Persea gratissima), bananas, jambo (Eugeniajambos), starfruit (Averrhoa carambola), Seville oranges ( Citrus aurantium), and coconut and hibiscus flowers. A study of their feeding behavior in a small forest near the village of Mariquita in the Tolima Department found diets offruits, flowers, bark, and leaves; overall, 82-84% of their feeding time was spent eating fruits, 8-25% eating invertebrates, and less than 8% eating bark and flowers.
Breeding. One female White-footed Tamarin breeds in each group. Newborns have been seen in September.
Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. A study in the suburbs of Mariquita found four groups of eleven, seven, 10-12, and two individuals, occupying a 120-ha secondary forest patch. The group of eleven individuals occupied a home range of 17-7 ha in July-December. Two additional groups of five and six individuals lived in the back gardens of a housing estate. The group offive occupied a home range of only 0-7 ha. Daily movements for the forest group were 783-2387 m. The urban group traveled 224-612 m/day. Densisties of White-footed Tamarins in seven forest fragments of 21- 1246 ha were 37 ind/km? (21-ha forest) to 149 ind/km? (264-ha forest) and higher than 100 ind/km? in four of the forests. Density in the largest forest (1246 ha) was 54 ind/ km”. These densities were higher than have been recorded for any other tamarin species. Although these high densities may well be an artifact of packing—refugees from destruction in the surrounding forest—, it is evident that the White-footed Tamarin is able to tolerate them, perhaps related to the increased food availability from secondary succession or perhaps to density compensation (i.e. loss of other larger primate species from the forest patches, reducing competition for resources). Other factors might include time since the forest was isolated; numbers may stabilize at a lowerlevel following the initial influx as the forest was isolated, or may even gradually fall due to lack of dispersal and its genetic consequences in a small population. Another factor is the extent to which the population is hunted (for trade) at each site.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Most of the distribution of the White-footed Tamarin has been largely deforested, and only a few scattered populations still survive. Nevertheless, it would seem that it is exceptionally hardy and adaptable, to the point where, in places that have been extensively logged,it is often the only primate to be seen. It also is able to thrive in forest patches in urban areas, benefitting from cultivated fruit trees. Concerns regarding the loss of forest and its exploitation for the pet trade have led to a conservation program and action initiated in 2006 by the Colombian non-governmental organization, Fundacion Biodiversa Colombia, encompassing education and environmental awareness, population surveys, ecological and behavioral research in the wild, and a captive breeding program in collaboration with the European Zoo Association.
Bibliography. Bernstein et al. (1976), Cuartas-Calle (2001), Cuervo et al. (1986), Defler (2003b, 2004), Green (1978), Hernandez-Camacho & Cooper (1976), Hershkovitz (1949, 1977), Moore & Cheverud (1992), Morales-Jiménez (2008), Poveda (2000), Poveda & Sanchez (2004), Roncancio et al. (2011), Rueda & Ordonez (2009), Rylands (1993a), Skinner (1991), Snowdon & Soini (1988), Vargas & Solano (1996).
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